Visitor FS0801 
| Visitor |
| Sex? |
female |
| Profession/occupation? |
Medical Student |
| Medical school year or years of
experience since graduation? |
4 |
| Home country? |
England |
| What made you want to go to
Solomon Islands? |
reading an article |
| Did you go alone or in company? |
in company |
| Arriving in Solomon
Islands |
| When did you arrive in Solomon
Islands? |
August 2008 |
| Did you encounter any
bureaucratic difficulties? |
no |
| What was your first impression
after arrival? |
It's a completely different world. |
| Living in Solomon
Islands |
| What did positively surprise
you? |
how friendly the people were |
| What did negatively surprise
you? |
level of corruption and crime, how expensive it was |
| What took longest to get used
to? |
the food |
| What did you miss most in
Solomon Islands? |
hot showers, chocolate and watching a film |
| What should you have brought
along? |
lots of books and music to keep you occupied and a good
pair of walking boots for the treks |
| What did you do to prevent
malaria? |
Malarone, nets at night and plenty of mosquito spray |
| Place and province where you
spent most of your time? |
Honiara, Honiara-City |
| Other places/provinces where
you stayed? |
Gizo, Munda, Western Province |
| Where did you stay? |
Kiwi-House, Phoebe's Resthouse |
| How long did you stay at each
location? |
7 weeks, 1 week |
| How much did you pay for
each? |
At Kiwi-House it is meant to be SBD 50 a night. SBD 180 a
night at Phoebe's but we had three in a room and so split the
cost - its a tight squeeze though! |
| Where did you usually eat? |
home and local restaurants |
| What did you typically pay for
a normal meal? |
SBD 100 |
| What local food/beverage did
you like most? |
local fish and fruit from the market, and the cakes from
the bakery |
| What local food/beverage did
you like least? |
you get very fed up of noodles |
| Mobile
phone services |
| If you brought along a mobile
phone, which services did you successfully use? |
SMS |
| Comments? |
You don't get any service, need to buy a chip out there
if you want to use a phone. |
| Money
matters |
Used Travellers Cheques in AUD
to get cash
Used Halifax debit card to get cash at ATMs |
| Comments? |
Take more money than you think you'll need. I used my
debit card the whole time, it's fine and you don't get many
charges. |
| Working in Solomon
Islands |
| How did you usually go to
work? |
walk |
| Where did you work? |
NRH O&G |
| What was your occupation? |
Medical Student |
| What were your working days and
hours? |
8.30am - 4.00pm Monday to Friday, but its really
flexible |
| What was particularly difficult
in regard to your work? |
the language barrier at first |
| Did you feel accepted by the
locals? |
yes |
| What did you usually do in your
spare time after work? |
go to Honiara Hotel pool or the beach |
| Questions
for medical trainees of all levels (students to
registrars) |
| How was the supervision? |
adequate |
| Comments |
- |
| How was the teaching? |
adequate |
| Comments |
You have to get involved and make the most of it. You get
out of it what you put in. |
| Leaving Solomon Islands and
looking back |
| When did you leave Solomon
Islands? |
September 2008 |
| How long was your stay? |
8 weeks |
| How do you judge the length of
your stay? |
just about right |
| What did you learn from the
locals? |
to be relaxed |
| Your advice to prospective
visitors? |
Don't have any expectations before you go... it takes a
while to settle in but if you make an effort you will love
it. |
| What did you miss most when
back at home again? |
the heat! the sea, the amazing people |
| What did you enjoy most when
back at home again? |
being back in civilisation |
| Would you go back for another
stay? |
yes |
| Estimated total cost of your
stay (including travel costs)? |
GBP 2,000 |
| Additional comments? |
- |
